NEWPORT BEACH : Two Rescue Man After Barge Flips

A 49-year-old man was quickly rescued by a surfer and a lifeguard Monday after the barge he was on drifted too close to shore and capsized in pounding surf.

John Pringle, an employee of the Army Corps of Engineers, received some minor cuts to his face, but he was not hospitalized, according to authorities.

He was the only one aboard the 20-foot barge.

Marine Safety Capt. Ron Johnson said the barge was part of a sand-dredging unit that has been working near the mouth of the Santa Ana River for the last seven months.

“Apparently, (Pringle) got too close to the shore, and these waves are a little too big for that barge to be that close to the shore,” Johnson said.

The accident occurred just south of the mouth of the Santa Ana River about 9 a.m., according to marine safety officials.

Peter Brewer, a Newport Beach resident who witnessed the rescue from his house, said he saw a lifeguard rush into the water and help pull Pringle out of the water.

“The lifeguard ran out there with his fins on faster than I can run without fins,” Brewer said.

Marine Safety Lt. Eric Bauer said that the two rescuers, surfer Jeff Pruitt and lifeguard Mike McNeff, were in a precarious position but that they were ultimately able to pull Pringle out of the water before any other problems could arise.

“The surfer let him hang on to the board until others could pull him out,” Bauer said.

“(Pringle’s) clothes made him too heavy to move without help,” he said.

An official of the Corps of Engineers said that Pringle was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where he was treated and released.